From THQ’s financial call today comes two pretty big pieces of news: The South Park RPG has been delayed, and the company may no longer be publishing the upcoming game from legendary Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive creator Tomonobu Itagaki.

First up is South Park: The Stick of Truth, which will now slip from late 2012 to the first quarter of 2013. The good part? That means it’ll be less likely to get lost in the flood of games coming out near the end of this year. The bad part? It’s joining an ever-growing list of games that are doing that exact same thing, meaning it might instead get lost in the flood of games that have now also jumped to early 2013.

Then we’ve got Itagaki’s next project Devil’s Third. THQ’s president and CEO Brian Farrell said about the game, “The profitability profile for Devil’s Third no longer met our internal threshold and we are currently in discussions with third parties regarding the future of this title.”

Unfortunately, the “Japanese developer + Western publisher” team-ups haven’t exactly been setting the world on fire lately, so I can’t say that I’m surprised that THQ might be getting cold feet. Right now, they company isn’t really in a position to take huge risks, so an unknown property like Devil’s Third probably isn’t in their best interests.

About Eric Patterson

Eric got his start via self-publishing game-related fanzines in junior high, and now has one goal in life: making sure EGM has as much coverage of niche Japanese games as he can convince them to fit in. Eric’s also active in the gaming community on a personal level, being an outspoken voice on topics such as equality in gaming and consumer rights.

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South Park Game Delayed, Itagaki’s Next Game May Be Dropped

From THQ's financial call today comes two pretty big pieces of news: The South Park RPG has been delayed, and the company may no longer be publishing the upcoming game from legendary Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive creator Tomonobu Itagaki.

From THQ’s financial call today comes two pretty big pieces of news: The South Park RPG has been delayed, and the company may no longer be publishing the upcoming game from legendary Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive creator Tomonobu Itagaki.

First up is South Park: The Stick of Truth, which will now slip from late 2012 to the first quarter of 2013. The good part? That means it’ll be less likely to get lost in the flood of games coming out near the end of this year. The bad part? It’s joining an ever-growing list of games that are doing that exact same thing, meaning it might instead get lost in the flood of games that have now also jumped to early 2013.

Then we’ve got Itagaki’s next project Devil’s Third. THQ’s president and CEO Brian Farrell said about the game, “The profitability profile for Devil’s Third no longer met our internal threshold and we are currently in discussions with third parties regarding the future of this title.”

Unfortunately, the “Japanese developer + Western publisher” team-ups haven’t exactly been setting the world on fire lately, so I can’t say that I’m surprised that THQ might be getting cold feet. Right now, they company isn’t really in a position to take huge risks, so an unknown property like Devil’s Third probably isn’t in their best interests.

About Eric Patterson

Eric got his start via self-publishing game-related fanzines in junior high, and now has one goal in life: making sure EGM has as much coverage of niche Japanese games as he can convince them to fit in. Eric’s also active in the gaming community on a personal level, being an outspoken voice on topics such as equality in gaming and consumer rights.